Hallo-Frida-Ween and her Ch-ch-ch-chia

I must say that Halloween never disappoints. Even when it comes close to looking like it will, it's just not possible that fun doesn't come and grab me on this wicked candy tempting day. My first possible disappointment came when I entered Gus into the Huntington Beach Doggy costume contest with 60 other dogs competing for the grand prize. While sewing his costume all week I thought I had this contest in the bag, but upon arrival my doubts kicked in. None of my friends wanted to drive all the way out to Huntington to root him on, so I had to go alone and that seemed like it might have been a huge mistake once it was announced that the crowd would be voting (the crowd was made up of those that had entered their own dogs and the family and friends that joined them.) I thought all my hard "doggy mama" work I had put into his costume had been in vain until we entered the auditorium and I found out that judges would be selecting the top 7 costumes out of the 60 entries. Gus was of course chosen, and then the crowd cheered for their favorite 3 that were then put onto a ballot. Gus won the grand prize of a baseball signed by the entire Angels team and a day at the doggy spa. I think he deserved the prize for being such a great sport by dressing like a chia pet. and having to hear "ch-ch-ch-chia" over and over and over again.

My second disappointment could have been when I wanted to find an outdoor mall to take the boys I babysit trick-or-treating. Since I wouldn't be with them in the evening, I wanted to experience their Spiderman and tiger costumes during the day. No shopping center was doing anything on Monday though. The pumpkin harvest festival in Woodland Hills saved the day, however. They had a hayride, a corn maze and lots of fun rides and activites that Jake ignored so that he could play in the dirt instead.

My third possible disappointment: At night when the wild ones come out (wild ones=the girls that dress in lingerie and pretend that the character they're dressed as would actually wear a thong), my friend Ben and I found ourselves at a party in the suburbs with middle-aged men playing sword games in the driveway not even offering up a "hello." We stood there as awkwardly as we possibly could. Him on crutches (he actually did break his foot) with a sign that read "Nancy Kerrigan" and I as Frida Kahlo (the bi-sexual Mexican artist of the 1940's who had a unibrow and slight mustache.) After standing there for about twenty minutes, I said "let's go" thinking it would be better to just head across town to West Hollywood where another friend had invited me to a party. When I texted him for the address he informed me that his party was a bust because neighbors had called the cops. I was a little jealous of his party...at least there was some crazy fun going on there. Without any other party invites and feeling the need to show off my fabulous costume, we went to the place I have celebrated Halloween at for years--The Shortstop. A non-pretentious bar in Silverlake that lets anyone come and be who they are...or in the case of Halloween, who they're not. My friend Sarah met Ben and I over there for an hour, but we stayed 'til close. We had drinks, danced the night away, and a guy dressed up like Mark Kent (the lame brother of Clark Kent who was born sans super powers) who was trying to dance with me all night actually made me believe that maybe Frida Kahlo's unibrow was actually hot. This was until I found out he was there by himself (odd) and had a girlfriend asleep at home (creepy player) and the tooth that I thought was just blacked out for Halloween was actually missing (hmmmmm.) Guys are weird. Sometimes often. Another night in Hollywood and another Halloween under my belt. Always entertaining. Never disappointing.

Ch-ch-ch-chia.
The Chia pet was first invented in San Francisco, CA in 1977.

I spent the week sewing 8 of these fake fish tank plants I bought from Petco onto a green dog shirt I bought from the 99 cent store. I thought they looked pretty close to chia.

Gus and I right before the costume contest.

Gus wins 1st place at the Huntington Beach Doggy Costume Contest.

Happy Hallo-weiner!

Jake as Spiderman for the 2nd year in a row.

Simon as a tiger.

Jake and I on the hayride.

My Charlie Brown shirt I wear every Halloween...it's pretty amazing.

Frida Kahlo 1907-1954

Self-portrait by Frida Kahlo.

Black long wig that I braided and pinned up; plastic flowers from 99 Cent Store; peasant blouse from Heritage 1980; Sante Fe style skirt from Urban Outfitters; vintage braided camel color leather belt; vintage red heels; wicker bag; colorful beads from a market in Brazil; turquoise vintage beads; thrifted peacock necklace; turquoise and gold hoop earrings from Urban Outfitters.

She was a Mexican artist married to fellow artist Diego Rivera and found most of her success in the 1940's after a terrible bus accident caused a year long stinit in bed and over 30 operations.

Out of her 200+ paintings, she did 57 self-portraits--always evoking both pain and passion. She is not only considered the most famous Mexican artist, but she is also the most successful female artist of all time and an international icon.

She lived life with vibrancy and passion. Despite having a slight mustache and unibrow, she was so absolutely alluring that both men and women found her irrisistable. I thought that maybe some of that seductive power would rub off on me but that didn't happen.

Sarah and I at the Shortstop. I think she might think the mustache is real.

Ben and I at The Shortstop.